North Korea is ramping up its hacking activity with a recent hack on South Korea stealing the personal data of around 10 million customers.
Yes, this latest attack by North Korean hackers has created widespread fear for a huge number of individuals who felt that their sensitive data was protected. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it’s a brave company that can attest to their data being protected 100% securely.
It’s the kind of attack which should really make your ears prick up and take data security seriously, so it’s time to investigate the story!
Hacking Interpark
The hacked company at the centre of this attack is Interpark, an online shopping mall located in South Korea. Founded in 1996, Interpark has risen to such a lofty position in their market that they can boast transactions which are measured in hundreds of millions of dollars, so it’s no surprise that Interpark was such an attractive target.
But how exactly does a company as large as Interpark fall down in the security stakes and get hacked?
Well, unfortunately, it was through the simple execution of a malware attack through email. A careless employee fell for a deceptive email and effectively left the back door unlocked for North Korea to gain entry.
Now, we seem to be discussing malware on here on a regular basis, but this attack is something else in terms of its ambitions. Not only have the hackers compromised sensitive customer details such as email addresses, telephone numbers and other personal data, but they’re demanding that Interpark pay a ransom of nearly $3 billion in Bitcoin to prevent the data being leaked.
What’s particularly embarrassing for Interpark is that the initial hack took place in May, but was only brought to Interpark’s attention on July 11 when the ransom message was delivered. This highlights the sophistication with which the hackers have been able to cover their tracks through a simple email attack, but also underlines how lax Interpark have been with their monitoring.
After all, if there has been movement of 10 million customers’ details on your network, it really should be detected…
Combatting Malware
North Korea has been the center of hack controversies for a few years now, with their alleged involvement in the Sony Pictures hack perhaps the most famous example. And, it’s unlikely that Interpark will be their last target either, so you need to understand how to protect yourself from malware.
As ever, ensure that you and your employees are taking the following steps:
- Always install all the latest software updates to prevent easy access for hackers who have identified vulnerabilities in specific software.
- Display awareness when opening emails and being presented with links and attachments. Although they may look harmless, this is often part of the clever deception at play and it’s always best to double check.
- Be careful when using removable hardware such as disk drives and USB sticks as these can easily be tampered with to contain automatic software which will download malware silently and quickly.
- Keep a close eye on network activity on your servers. An increase in activity could indicate that something unusual is happening such as wholesale removal of personal data.
For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.
